


Reality

by blessed_shortcake



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Derealization, Dissociation, Hurt/Comfort, Rant Fic, Sad, Tags May Change, error deals with some stuff, ink is there to help, no beta we die like men, not really tho, or at least try, pretty short, read notes for more, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28731666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blessed_shortcake/pseuds/blessed_shortcake
Summary: After the multiverse fell into a truce, everything peaceful and calm with no fights Error had not much left to do. He wandered the different universes, not sure why. Sometimes he got tempted to break his side of the promise but he never actually did. Some days were harder than others tho..  Feeling like you are the biggest glitch in the universe with also no purpose whatsoever can take a toll on one's mental health.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 20





	1. Start

Error sat in a random pacifist timeline. He was watching the human talk to a Snowdrake about something probably really stupid. Snowdrakes were always only full of stupid jokes which he hated. He was working on a Frisk doll so he kept following them around but it started to get boring.. again.

He sighed and opened a portal back to the anti void. His usual living space got even messier thru time, strings and dolls laying on the floor untouched. There were no tied up souls anymore or scattered bone attacks. It was just him, his yarn and his dolls. Pathetic. He laid down on an empty patch of white and stared up at the nothingness. Why did he even try to keep this stupid truce? It made no sense. Sure things were more calm this way but why did he care about that?

He felt his soul pulsing awkwardly, anxiety taking a better of him. He curled into himself still unsure how to make the feeling go away after so long. Usually he would go and attack some random useless copy but he could not.. or.. could he?

It's not like it mattered

They are not alive

They won't remember

They are just useless copies

It is just an useless copy

It doesn't feel, code does not have emotions

Code can't feel pain but he could not either. Was he code? He was an outcode.. or was he? He hasn't felt anything in a while. 

He pushed himself up to his feet without realizing what he is doing. He opened a portal to the first AU he could think of - Outertale. He slowly walked thru, not even bothering to look around. 

It was usually colder in Outertale but he could not feel the chill on his bones. He could not feel the rocks cutting his feet as he walked. He barely didn't notice the edge of the cliff he arrived at. Righ, Outertale.

He looked back, hundreds if not more monsters were living their peaceful lives completely unexpecting of what is about to come. He blinked, trying to help his eyes focus a bit. He didn't bring his glasses with himself anymore but that didn't matter anyway. 

"Sup Glitchy" the voice made Error snap out of his thoughts. He looked in the direction of where it came from and- oh. Ink.

"What.." he growled back. He really was not in the mood for the artist to be messing with him. 

"I just wanted to say hi? You seemed deep in thought is everything ok?" his voice was quiet.. or was that sympathy? Error could not help but laugh even if there was no emotion behind it. 

"Yes Squid everything is dandy can't you see? I've never been doing better." he sat down, slightly frustrated at himself. His feet started to hurt but he could not care less.

"Sheesh.. someone woke up at the wrong side of the bed." He sat down next to Error, not too close to make him uncomcofrtable but close enough to be in sight. "What's wrong buddy?"

Error didn't know. He really didn't. He didn't know why he felt the way he did - why he didn't feel at all sometimes. He didn't know why he doubted himself so much or why Ink's sympathetic tone made him break down there and then. Blue tears were pouring down his face, something that did not happen in such long time it made Error feel like it's a wrong thing to do. 

"AAAAH WAIT I DIDN'T MEAN- WHY ARE YOU CRYING I'M SORRY PLEASE DON'T CRY??" Ink panicked slightly when he heard the glitchy skeleton start sobbing. He thought he might have had an argument with someone or just missed an episode of Undernovela so the sudden burst of emotions caught him off guard. He didn't mean to make the other cry he just wanted to know if he is okay which he clearly isn't.

"Shut up im- it's not- fuck-" Error wiped at his sockets frantically, trying to make the tears to stop with no use. He dropped his arms in defeat and let his sobs take over. Ink sat there frozen, not knowing what to do. He never saw the ex destroyer so voulnerable so this was all new and strange for him. Usually he would try to hug a crying person to comfort them but that is a terrible idea with Error's haphephobia. 

"I don't know what's wrong.." Ink started carefully, deeply thinking thru every word before saying it out loud "but I am here for you. You can talk to me pal and I will listen." he moved a little closer, trying to seem as non threatening as he can. "We can work thru anything together."

Error's soul ached at Ink's words. No they could not - HOW could they work on a problem which he did not even know the core of? He took a handful of rocks and chucked it into space, yelling as he did so. He felt frustrated with himself. He was so weak and pathetic how could he even work out anything with anyone? He isn't even suppossed to BE here.

He pulled up his knees to his chest, a position that made things feel just a little less terrible. He tried to make the sobbing stop but that only resulted in him shaking very clearly. He was sure Ink was judging the hell out of him for crying like this but he was actually very wrong. Ink only felt bad for the other. He knew Error had his issues just like everyone else but except like everyone he didn't have friends or family to work on them. Sure there was Blue but there was no way Stretch would let him go anywhere near their house.

Error moved a little closer to Ink, his presence made him feel calmer just a little bit. Another thing he could not explain. His soul shook with every sob and he felt like he will fall apart if he keeps this up. It just hurt so much everything just hurt. 

"I feel-" he started, sobs forcing him to stop mid sentence "like I have no purpose anymore. When I had the chance to destroy I at least had a purpose.. even if it was to kill people." he paused, checking if Ink have left after that. He would not blame him if he did.. but he didn't. He was staring at him with sympathy and patience - two things Error was not met with in a while. He forced his gaze away so he doesn't start sobbing even more from the sheer anount of care he is being given.

"I tried to knit but it's just not entertaining. I am not needed for anything since the only thing I have an experty in is messing up." he trailed off, his voice being barely a whisper. "It's not like anyone would want a glitch either."

If it wasn't for the silent nature of Outertale, Ink would have probably missed the last part - but he did not. He sighed and looked up at the stars. Usually he could give some empty words of encouragement but this time was different. He did not want to mess this up.

Giving people white lies of encouragement always had the chance of the person seeing thru them so he could not risk that with Error. If he said the wrong thing to the glitch who knows what could happen.. Ink thought about the worst outcomes possible and none of them were something he wanted to experience. 

Sure Error was problematic usually, he was stubborn and moody but that did not mean he doesn't deserve care and help. Ink rubbed the back of his head and planned his next sentence very carefully.


	2. Oh no

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again-

Everything was going numb again. Everything was numb and fuzzy and wrong-

His feet stopped hurting again which was at least a slight plus. Wasn't he bleeding a minute ago tho? He looked at his feet- since when was he not wearing shoes? 

His bones looked so thin and chipped.. why does his body look so beaten and sad? It doesn't usually look like that. He looked around, head feeling extremely as he moved. Everything felt heavy now that he paid attention. Outertale had less gravity so why did he feel like he is being pulled down so hard?

It was almost like being under water and the thought itself made Error struggle to breathe more than he already was. He was not sobbing anymore but his soul still ached coldly, an empty and freezing feeling that was so hard to make go away.

He didn't even pay attention to the tears pouring down his face anymore. It was the only familiar sensation at that moment so he didn't deserve latching onto it. He didn't deserve anything actually.

He looked at the endless coat of stars and colors wordlessly. It was always so pretty, Error loved watching the galaxy move and change no matter what mood he was in but at that moment the sky he loved so much only seemed like a weird canvas with random colors spilled on it in random patterns. It unsettled him.

He tried to find a spot that looks real, a spot with actual stars and not painted on ones. He desperately moved his gaze around, trying his damnest to find something real-

His hands shook as his soulbeat sped up. There was nothing real around him. Since when was he in front of a canvas? He was in.. where was he again? Oh Stars he could not remember where he was he could not recall the name of the place. He looked around, plastic rocks and code made puppets greeting him wherever he looked.

His nonexsistent lungs were filling up with water he could not breathe. He squeezed his shirt right above his soul in an attempt to soothe himself. The fabric felt wrong it felt so wrong so so wrong and he almost felt like crying again.

He looked down at his body.. his body? No this was wrong. Colorful bones peeking from blue-black pants and sleeves were staring tauntingly at him. It was not his body. 

He moved the hands in front of himself and inspected them carefully. It moved by itself, out of his control completely. His head felt full. There was someone talking, who is it?

Error could not bring himself to move, this body was out of his control. The voice kept going anyway. He could not pick out what the person is saying, it sounded so distant was it even talking to him? Probably not.

He tried to think about things he loved but nothing came to mind. Everything he could recall only made him feel more numb and fuzzy. Chocolate tasted like plastic in his memory, something he was sure is not true. Chocolate was supposed to be bittersweet.. right?

Maybe everyone just lied to him about it to make him feel better about himself. It didn't work either ways. Chocolate was wrong and he felt terrible about himself. Why was he feeling bad again? He could not remember. Probably did not matter then. He didn't matter then.

Ink looked at Error, he was not responding. It was worrying. He has been talking to him about anything and everything for a hour now and still nothing. At fist he thought Glitchy might have crashed but then he moved again, wordlessly like he is only physically here.

His eyelights were hazy and he moved oh so slowly, Ink felt his chest ache with pity. He never thought the ex destroyer could get so weak and vulnerable.

He sighed, there was only one way he knew how to snap him out. Error might hate him for it and they might never talk again but he was willing to risk it.

Ink slowly reached out and put his hand on Error's gently. The glitch looked at their hands then up at him, eyelights still hazy and unfocused. His expression was blank which made Ink worry more. He could feel his hand shake under his palm. He took a deep breath and looked Error in the eyes trying to present as determined but non threatening as he could.

"Buddy hey.. Listen, try to focus on my voice okay?" he started as gently as he could. He kept his tone firm but he didn't raise his voice. Making him panic would not help whatsoever.

Error felt a hand on him even tho he could not tell where it was. It did not really bother him at the moment. The burning sensation brought him a little bit back to his senses so he didn't move. 

There was that voice again. It sounded a bit closer this time tho. He could not understand what it was saying but he knew it was talking to him. He tried to pay attention but it was pretty hard when his head felt full of cotton.

"I know you can hear me pal. Or uh I think you can at least.." Ink trailed off, maybe he didn't hear him and he was just wasting his time. No, he could not give up on Error. He shook his head and moved a little closer.

"Alright friend look around for me please. Find the things I am about to name okay?" he didn't wait for a response, he knew Error would not say anything just yet. "Okay. Let's start with something easy.''

Error tried paying attention to the voice. What if it was telling him something important and he was rudely ignoring it? He could not disappoint one more person.

He heard something familiar.. a rock? Did the voice say rock? Does it want a rock? 

He slowly moved his gaze, trying to find a rock to give the voice but everything was still blurry. After a bit he finally spotted one, perfect! He reached for it slowly, the hands were still mainly out of his control but they were for sure trying to help him.

Ink nearly squealed with happiness when Error gave him the rock. He barely expected him to even look for one, let alone touch it! He was more present than he thought! He contained his pride for the glitch and continued the exercise.

"Great job buddy! Alright how about you find me something brown now?" he asked gently. There was plenty brown around them so it was a fairly simple task. Looking for colors was also a nice way to ground.

It took Error a bit but he finally reached for Ink's scarf. Right that is also brown haha-

Ink chuckled a bit. It wasn't exactly what he meant but it was still good. Error blinked at him silently, was he waiting for the next task? Ink felt his nonexistent soul melt at the glitch's expression. He looked so soft and sad. He wanted to hug him there and then but he didn't want to risk resetting their progress.

"Good job. You are doing amazing Error. Let's try something green then okay?" Ink knew this was a mean task, the only green thing around them was his vial but if he could pick it then they could move onto something harder.

Error stared at the colorful line across the voice's body, trying to figure out which color was green. He never thought naming colors could be so hard.

He reached for one of the blobs, trying to see if it matches his hand. He knew his hand was not green so whatever his hand matched is definitely not what he needs to find.

Slowly but surely he picked out each of the wrong colors until he was only left with green. He pointed at the vial, not wanting to touch it for some reason he could not recall yet.

Ink smiled proudly, they were getting there! It took Error a couple minutes but he still found the right color and that is all that mattered to him. 

"Okay buddy can you try talking for me?" he waited patiently but Error just stared at him. Maybe that one was a bit too hard for now. "That's okay! You win some you loose some." he chuckled. He wasn't expecting things to go completely smoothly but despite that Error was doing impressively good!

Things still felt really fuzzy for Error but he was way more grounded than before. He could feel the pain in his feet and the pounding headache he was getting. It was still hard to control his movements but at least he could recognize his body. As pathetic as that sounds, that's a half win for him. 

He stared at the source of the voice, listening to every word he said. He could slowly recognize Ink more and more but he still seemed very fake at times. It was mainly the factor that he was helping him at all. The real Ink would never bother trying to pull him out of his misery.

"Can you wave for me buddy?" came the next task. Usually Error would yell at Ink for giving him stupid things to do but he knew what he was doing. He moved his arm slowly and did a small waving motion at him. It hurt to move his arm even this much but the pain was dragging him back to his senses.

He looked at Ink and got irrationally upset at how happy it made him feel to see a proud look on his face. This was stupid, Ink is just messing with him.

Error moved to stand up but almost instantly collapsed back to the ground. He was completely out of energy, great. 

Ink looked at the glitch with worry, if he could not stand it meant he needs a long rest. There was no way for Error to let anyone touch him so he could not even carry him to the doodle sphere or to his anti-void. Just great. 

As he turned to ask him what he wants to do, Ink noticed Glitchy already fell asleep. He was hugging his knees, his head resting on his arms as he faced Ink. He squealed silently, trying to not wake up his friend. He never would have guessed that Error would be so cute while sleeping. His expression still held a lot of stress but he looked way more peaceful than Ink ever saw him.

He took out a notebook and started doodling the sleeping skeleton, mentally vowing to himself to stay by him until he wakes up to keep him safe. Even if Ink could bring him out of his dissociated state it did not mean Error was okay. He wanted to make sure to tell him he kept an eye out for him as he slept so Error can know there is someone who cares about him even if it's hard for him to believe such thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading so far ~  
> Take care and until next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for @/TunaNoodleSoup for the help on this chapter! 
> 
> Also thank you all for reading <3
> 
> This was originally made with an open ending but I got a hand from @/TunaNoodleSoup so be on a lookout for the next chapter! 
> 
> Not sure how long this will actually be but I really doubt it will be much longer than a few chapters haha


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